Over 17,000 students in Classes 1 to 7 studying in government and aided schools in Ernakulam have turned proficient in Malayalam language after the Education Department introduced its innovative project ‘Malayalathilakkam’ in 2016-17.
The learning programme was introduced across the State under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) based on the inference that a section of students were finding it difficult to improve their Malayalam language learning capabilities. “Through a sustained process that culminated in March this year, we could help these students to improve their reading and writing skills in Malayalam,” said SSA district coordinator Sajoy George.
The objective of the initiative, which has now been extended to the high school level, is to make Malayalam learning interesting through a combination of innovative methods. A 30-hour module was designed initially to expose students to the visual and musical experience of their liking and make them learn the language.
The students had the opportunity to rectify their mistakes in writing and pronunciation.
Teachers were encouraged to use their experience to make the learning process creative.
Mr. George said the child-centric learning patterns and modules could help students overcome their initial problems in understanding, writing and reading Malayalam. A space was created where students, who had difficulties in learning Malayalam, were given individual attention and care, he said.
Malayalathilakkam focussed on first identifying the issues being faced by the individual learner and offering personalised solutions to overcome it.
Schools were given the freedom to chalk out their own learning sessions without diluting the core concept of making the learning process child-centric, interesting and creative. The students were encouraged to make sentences in Malayalam and read newspapers to step up their writing and reading skills. Discussions were held on popular books involving students and teachers.
The sessions were intended to instil confidence among the learners, who had initially found Malayalam learning a difficult process. In the first leg, teachers asked the students to speak the language without any inhibitions. They were also told to write short sentences. Classes were also re-arranged to help those finding Malayalam difficult catch up with others, who were already proficient in the language.
